


Better With Butter

by Bookworm1063



Series: CO Countdown 2020 [23]
Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Carry On Countdown (Simon Snow), Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:00:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28129530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bookworm1063/pseuds/Bookworm1063
Summary: I open the fridge and start shoving things to the side, searching. Why are there so many takeout containers in here?The door opens and Penny steps in. “Simon, I’m back—what the fuck did you do to my kitchen?”Bored in quarantine, Simon tries making sour cherry scones.
Relationships: Penelope Bunce & Simon Snow, Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch/Simon Snow
Series: CO Countdown 2020 [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2026988
Kudos: 28
Collections: Carry On Countdown 2020





	Better With Butter

If Penny could see me right now, she’d probably murder me for the mess I’m making in her kitchen.

There’s flour all over the counters, cherry juice staining more than a few towels, and the scorched remains of my first try at this is sitting in a heap on a cooling rack. It’s a good thing I have the flat to myself. I don’t think Baz and Penny would mock me for this, but they’d definitely laugh a little bit.

Then Penny would spell the mess away, and Baz would take me out to get scones. Maybe I do wish they were here.

I check the oven timer and move a mixing bowl from the table to the sink. I pick up one of the burnt scones and pinch off a corner.

It’s not bad, actually. Just, you know, crunchy. It’d probably be better with butter.

I open the fridge and start shoving things to the side, searching. Why are there so many takeout containers in here?

The door opens and Penny steps in. “Simon, I’m back—what the fuck did you do to my kitchen?”

She’s standing in the kitchen doorway. Her backpack is dangling off one shoulder, and she still has her mask on.

“Um… I got bored,” I say. “I was just cleaning up.”

Penny unhooks her mask from around her ears and stuffs it into her pocket. “Merlin and Morgana, Simon. You need to get out more.”

I gesture vaguely to the windows. “Pandemic.”

“So go for a walk in the park or something, Jesus _Christ_.”

I don’t think I’ve ever heard Penelope swear like a Normal before.”

“Okay,” Penny says. “Okay. Keep cleaning, Simon. I’m going to shower and change. Then I’ll help you spell the rest of this.” She disappears down the hall to the bathroom.

I move two more mixing bowls, a spatula, and a bottle opener to the sink and turn on the water. I pour some dish soap over them and leave everything to soak while I dump the burned scones in the trash can.

On the counter, my phone rings. The screen is covered in flour, so I have to wipe it with my sleeve to see who it is.

I pick up immediately. It’s a FaceTime call, so the screen goes black for a second as the cameras connect.

“Baz?” I say.

“Snow,” he says. “There’s flour in your hair.”

“Yeah,” I say. “There’s flour all over everything right now. Where are you?” All I can see behind him is a concrete wall and the side mirror of a car. He’s wearing a plain black mask.

“The parking garage at my flat,” Baz says. “Fiona’s upstairs.”

That explains it. Fiona loves interrupting our calls.

“I miss you,” I say. “My room doesn’t smell like your posh soap anymore. It’s weird.”

“I’m coming over tonight,” Baz says. “Will Bunce throw a fit if I come in and take my mask off?”

“You’re a vampire,” Penny calls out. She’s changed into a pyjama set with purple hearts on it, and she’s wearing one of my hoodies, or maybe Baz’s hoodies, over it. “Don’t you have, like, antibiotic spit or something? You’re fine. Just don’t drain anyone on the way here.”

Baz rolls his eyes. “I promise not to eat any sick people,” he says. “And I do not have _antibiotic spit_.”

“You do,” Penny says. “I read it in a book somewhere. You can come over, but if you get Simon sick, I’ll be pissed.”

“You’re not worried about yourself?” I ask. Penny raises her eyebrows.

“I’m not the one who’s going to make out with him, Simon. Now help me clean the kitchen.”

I blush. Baz laughs. 

“Why are you cleaning the kitchen?”

“Show him,” Penny demands. I flip the camera around.

Baz takes in the mess and laughs even harder.

“Snow,” he says. “It looks like a war zone in there.”

“I know,” I say sadly. “I wanted scones.”

Penny lifts her hand and starts casting spells— ** _“A place for everything, and everything in its place! Spic and Span! Out, out, damned spot!”_**

Slowly, the kitchen starts to clean and rearrange itself. The oven timer dings.

“Hang on, Baz.” I set the phone down and move to the oven. There’s a pair of oven mitts still on the counter. I put them on and take the scones out.

Penny holds her hand over the scones and casts **_“Just right!”_** It’s a good spell for the size of chairs, the temperature of food, and the softness of beds, but not much else.

I leave the scones on the table and go back for the phone. Baz watches, curious, as Penny lifts a scone to her mouth and takes a bite. 

“Simon,” she says, her mouth full. “This is—” she swallows— “Really good.”

“Is it?” I ask, surprised.

“Yes,” she says. “I didn’t know you could bake.”

“Neither did I,” I say. I flip the camera back around so Baz can see me. “Want me to save you a few?” 

“Please do,” Baz says. He’s walking through the garage now, probably on his way back up to his flat. He’s taken his mask off; I guess he can’t get sick, so he doesn’t need it when there’s no one around. “I’ll be there in an hour or so. Is it alright if I spend the night?”

“Absolutely,” I say, before Penny can interject. She rolls her eyes.

“Fine, I guess.”

“See you soon,” Baz says. “I love you, Simon.”

“Love you too,” I say softly. He hangs up the call, and I set my phone to the side.

“Pass me one of those scones?” I ask Penny, and she does. I take a bite.

Penny’s right. They are pretty good.

They’d be better with butter, though. 


End file.
